Hey guys, I'm glad you enjoyed the first part of my European Sword comp, so here's part two focusing on long swords. Since a lot of these swords appeared at similar times, instead of a direct evolution like the last comp, I'm going to just list different long swords that were used.
Also, I'd like to preface this comp with the fact that I am not an authority or expert on sword history. I'm just a guy who is currently procrastinating his CS lab by researching swords on wikipedia, and if I post any erroneous facts sorry in advanced. Enjoy the comp.
First comp can be found here: You need to login to view this link
First sword we start off with is the traditional European Longsword. Having a 2 handed grip with a straight, double edged blade these swords were typically 1 - 1.3m long, and weighed an average of 1.1-1.8 kg. These swords began appearing in the 14th century, and was an exceptionally popular weapon during the 100 Years war. It was used throughout the 14th and 15th centuries, however by the 16th century its military use had become obsolete, and by the late 16th century, it was used mostly for knightly competitions and duels.
The next sword is the extremely famous, Scottish variation of the long sword, the Claymore. Characterized by their forward facing cross hilt, Claymores were slightly larger than other contemporary long swords, averaging 1.4 m in length and 2.5 kg in weight. Claymores were used from circa 1400-1700, however smaller, earlier versions were seen being used as early as the Wars of Scottish Independence. Eventually, the term "Claymore" was also used for Scottish Basket-Hilted swords, and it has become a point of historical debate as to which was called the Claymore first.
Next up is an interesting sword known as the Estoc. Used from the 14th century - 17th Century, estocs were two handed swords that ran anywhere from 1.17m to 1.57m, and weights ranging form 2kg-2.7kg. What makes the Estoc unique is that the blade had no cutting edge, instead having an extremely sharp point for thrusting. This is because with the widespread use of plate armor, many people realized cutting such armor was very ineffective. But a thrusting weapon could split ring mail or find crevices in the joints of armor, and many long swords were tapered to do just that.
These blades belong to another famous family of swords, the Zweihanders. A Renaissance sword, these blade were used in the early 16th century during the Italian Wars by the famous Landsknechte. Typically 1.4m-1.8m long and weighing in at 2-3.2kg, zweihaenders often had parrying hooks near the bottom of the blade and were often seen as the final stage of the trend of increasing sword sizes. While extremely badass, these swords ceased to have a practical function by the late 16th century, and later became ceremonial swords. These swords were occasionally much larger and heavier than the regular zweihaender, going up to 10 lbs.
The Flamberge, also called the flammenschwert or flame bladed sword, were essentially Zweihaenders with a flame like, wavy blade pattern, although rapiers also occasionally had the wave pattern as well. While largely decorative, the pattern had several practical applications as well, as the unual cross section often resulted in wider wounds with a thrust attack, and were apparently useful for destroying halberds mid combat, as the waved edges caused massive damage to them when dragged along them.
The final blade in this comp is the Kriegsmesser, or War knife. Often confused with its one handed cousin, the Grobesmesser, the Kriegsmesser was a 1.5m long sword used from the 14th-16th centuries and used by professional soldiers like the Landsknechtes.
